Invisible Music

The late, great writer Angela Carter would almost certainly have relished the fact that Polly Paulusma once lived in London’s narrowest house (seven feet and seven inches from front to back) – and get a good story out of it, too. Here, folk singer Paulusma explores Carter’s immersion in traditional song, the ‘invisible music’ of the title. Because as well as fairytale, folklore and feminism, Carter steeped herself in balladry – she sang regularly at Bristol’s Lansdown folk venue in the 60s, and here, readings from her work are interwoven with Paulusma performing the songs that most influenced Carter as an artist.

They include marvellous big-hitters from the tradition, such as ‘Barbary Allen’, ‘Lucy Wan’, ‘The Banks of Red Roses’, ‘Reynardine’ and ‘The Streams of Lovely Nancy’. In these great songs, loss, love, incest, abduction, war and death combine in one primordial soup steaming with intent. Paulusma raises up their spirits with a fine voice – reminiscent of Anaïs Mitchell’s delivery on Child Ballads – and there’s supple, energetic acoustic musical support from Jed Bevington’s fiddle, guitarist Jack Harris, and double bassist John Parker. You may find the songs are so good that the readings from Carter’s fiction interrupt the flow, but it’s altogether a compelling immersion.